newton



EPHRAIM ELLIOTT AND CHA RLES E. NEWTON, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 73,787, dated January 28, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN ARTIFICIAL LEGS.

dlgs Stinnes nicht in it these @that irtnxt mit making pitt nt tigesmite.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONOERN:

Be it known that we, ErunAIM ELLIOTT and CHARLES E. NEWTON, both ofLowell, in the county of Middlcsex, and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Artiiicial Legs; and we dohereby .declare thatv the following is aiull and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thelcttcrs oi" reference marked thereon.

The nature of our invention consists in providing'a-n artificial leg,its frame being made of straight beams of metal, formed of the requiredsize and shape, and its entire mechanism enclosed within a case ofcloth, leather,

or esh-rubbcr. It also relates to the self-adjusting sockets, and theextensions applied to the upper andlower sockets, whereby one socketmaybe extended in position without interfering with the other. Itfurther relates to the device for contracting and extending the articialtendons, which give the required motion to the ankle and knee-joints,the object of this' invention being to furnish an artificial leg madeentire of metal, thus producing rf. lighter, durable,`and cheaper leg,and one that will be worn with more ease by the user.

' To enable others skilled in the`art to make and use our invention, wewill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

Figure I represents a side elevation of our improved artificial leg.

Figure 2 represents a front elevation of the same.

Similar letters in the diifcrcnt figures indicate corresponding parts.

Ne construct the frame oi' our improved artificial leg of two straightside beams, a a, extending from and connecting with the ankle-joint,thus forming a part of the same,'to the thigh. These beams a a areconnected by the bands i5 b', c c', and d, the bands b b and c c formingthe upper and lower cases or sockets for the reception of theself-adjusting sockets c and e. These sockets e and e are formed andmade oi' wood, leather, or raw hide, to suit the wants of the wearer,and are attached to the bands b and c-by suitable springs, ff. Betweenthe upper and lower sockets', b b c c', and located on these straightside beams a a, is'the knee-joint, which' swings or hinges on the pivotsg g, and is controlled by the double stop L L, as represented in iig-1by dotted lines. 'L'zis the extension located between the kneejoint andupper socket 6 b, on the straight side beams a a, whereby the same canbe instantly adjusted in position. .7' ,7' is the extension, locatedbetween the linee-joint and band e', on the straight side beams a a,band c, and the front and back beams .7c and c; the front beam 7cconnecting with the baud c, and extending to the band c, the back beam7c forming a stop for the ankle-joint, connecting with the band d, andextending to the top of the band c, thus forming an artieial calf to thelimb. These extensions ffz'and'jj are formed by teethmeshing into eachother, and are held in their requiredv positions by suitable screws.Between the bands c and CZ, and attached to 'the straight side beams aa, is the device which controls and gives proper amount of elasticity tothe tendons Z and l', which operate on the knee and anklejoints. Thisdevice consists of the framem m, which is secured to the.` rods mfm,these rods being fastened to the straightisidc beams a a. Passingthrough and running in this frame m m is a pivot or shaft, on which adouble drum is placed and secured, for the reception of the springs 11,und 1t', the tendon Z connecting with the ban'd b and spring a. On oneside, and attached to this drum, is the ratchet o. On the other side isVattached the thumb-wheel o', which wheel is used, when more or lesstension is desired, to give a greater or less amount of elasticity tothe tendons l and Z. The ratchet o is-held in position by the pawl p,which operates on the top rod m. g is the ankle-seat, to which issecured the artificiel foot g', by means of the screw 1', which passesup through the hcel ofthe artificial foot, and pin r', passing throughthe instep. Z is the tendon, one ond of which isattached to the `springn', the other end fastened to the front of the ankleseat gi tis theadjustable heel-cord, one end of which is fastened to the back beam c,the other end to the top of the ankle-scat q, at the heel-end. Placedbetween the bottom of these straight beams 'a d, is the block c', whichis secured and held in position by the 'pivots vu u. This blocl e issecured to the ankle-seat by the pivot w, thus forming the ankle-joint.V

The artificial leg being thus prepared, and its several parts puttogether, it is then ready for use, and is secured to the person in theusual way, by a strapconne'cting with the 'band b, and passing over theshoulder,

or in any other way, as desired.

Where the person has lost his limb between the knee and ankle, twobearings are oftentimes desired, as they enablethe user to wear and usethe artificial leg withmore ease and comfort. By our improved artificialleg,

, this great advantage is gained by dispensing with 4the tendon Z.Having the socket e forthe stump-bearing,

the ysocket e for the other bearing between the knee and thigh, and by'the aid of the self-adjusting sockets e and e', thej'ar produced inwalking is greatly lessened; and when sitting, the weight of thc bo'dybeing removed from the limb by the relaxation of the springs j'f, freesor relieves the leg and stump from the sockets e and e', leaving thelimb natural and easy, thus resting the same.

4oftentimes, in wearing these artificial legs, the stump-und leg becomeswollen so much at times that the limb has tol be removed; and, further,the Vstump is liable to shrink. By the use of the extensions z'and j japplied to the upper and lower sockets, b and e c', the user is enabledto adjust either socket separately or collectively, as the ease mayrequire, getting the required bearing on the stump or leg.

In walking, it' the user nds the toes not enough or too muchelevated,4by aid ofthe heel-cord the is enabled to adjust the same,getting therequired elevation. Also, if more or less tension is requiredto make the ankle-joint work more free, or to decrease the tension, hyaid of the thumb-wheel o', and operating the same, he is enabled toadjust the tension to suit.

When the limb is lost, and off above the knee, the socket e andextension jjare' dispensed with, and a. suitable knee-pan is provided,and secured to the straight side*` beams a a, and the tendon Zisretained, which aids the user, in Walking, when the leg is bent at theknee-joint, to throw the foot and leg forward in position,

Where it is checked and controlled by the stop-motion h t, as seen in g.1 by dotted lines, the tendon Zfelevating at the same time the foot g,until stopped by the heel-cord t. The tension of these tendons isregulated by aid of the thumb-wheel 0', and retained by aid of the pawlp and ratchet o. The sideways motion, or the turning of the foot Q atthe ankle-joint, is produced by the ankle-seat q swinging on the pivotw. The extenvsion tand socket e are operated and adjusted the same asbefore described.

Thus it will be seen that our artificial leg is adapted and can beapplied to the unfortunate person who has lost hisleg below or above theknee, making a strong, light, durable leg, easily kept in order, itsartificial tendons and cords easily regulated, the joints workingnatural and life-like'7 withut any sharp points exposed toendanger theWear ot' the users clothes, and its entire mechanism and constructionmeeting the demands of the public.

What We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. We claim the self-adjusting sockets e and e', for the purposessubstantially as described and set forth.

2. We claim the extensions t' z' and jj, applied to the upper and lowersockets, b b and c c', for the purpose of adjusting the same inposition, as described and fully set forth.

3. We claim an artificial leg, provided .with straight side beams a a,bands b b, c c', and d, when arranged as herein described, and for thepurpose set forth.

4. We claim the double stop hh, in combination with the Astraight sidebeams a a, for the purposes as described and set forth. Y

We claim the arrangement and combination of the thumb-wheel o', ratcheto, pawl p, and frame m m, for the purpose substantially as described. j

6. We claim the combination of the ankle-seat g, pivots u zt and w,block o, and adjustable heel-cord t, when arranged to operatesubstantially-as described and set forth'.

EPHRAIM ELLIOTT, CHARLESE. NEWTON.

Witnesses:

Guo. E. PEVEY, HIRAM WHITNEY.

